NIGERIA: PASTOR, 1 OTHER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING BOY, BURYING HEAD ON ALTAR

September 14, 2022:

An Ikeja Special Offences Court on 9 August 2022 sentenced one Pastor Erinmole Adetokunbo and one Adedoyin Oyekanmi to death for killing a seven-year-old boy for ritual.
Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo sentenced the duo who changed their pleas from not guilty to guilty.
The two were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder.
According to the Lagos State Government, the two men committed the offences on 7 June 2017, at No 6, Oke Oniburokun Street, Odokekere, Ikorodu, Lagos.
The government said that the two cut off the child’s head and buried it on a “church” altar and threw the body into a canal.
The judge held that, “The defendants have committed a heinous crime and deserve no mercy.
“They have cruelly and intentionally killed a seven-year-old boy. This deprived him and his family of a bright destiny.
“Section 222 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State imposes death penalty for premeditated murder, and I have no hesitation in imposing the said punishment.
”I hereby sentence Adedoyin Oyekanmi and Erinwole Adetokunbo to death for killing Kazeem Rafiu. May God have mercy on your souls.”NAN reports that the convicts were first arraigned on 30 October 2017, on the two-count charge to which they pleaded not guilty.However, on 9 August, the prosecution counsel, Mrs O. A. Bajulaiye, told the court that the defendants were ready to change their plea to which the defence counsel, Ms Anthonia Otsokwa, did not object.Consequently, the accused pleaded guilty to the charge.The court thereafter reviewed the facts of the case, convicted and sentenced them accordingly.